The team behind blockchain network Solana has removed a controversial advertisement from its official X (formerly Twitter) account following intense criticism over its politically charged messaging regarding gender identity.
The ad, posted on March 17 with the caption “America is back. Time to Accelerate,” was a more than two-and-a-half-minute promotional video for the Solana Accelerate conference. It depicted a man, representing “America,” speaking to a therapist about his thoughts on innovation, including cryptocurrency.
During the session, the therapist dismisses his interest in innovation, sarcastically suggesting he should do “something more productive, like coming up with a new gender” and later advising him to “focus on pronouns.” As the conversation continues, the man becomes frustrated and delivers a monologue against the backdrop of patriotic music, declaring his intent to “build onchain and reclaim my place as the beacon of innovation.” He adds, “I want to invent technologies, not genders,” in a clear jab at progressive ideologies.
Before its removal, the ad was viewed over 1.2 million times and attracted over 1,300 comments and 1,400 reposts, with most reactions condemning its treatment of gender identity issues and its engagement in an intensely divisive cultural debate.
Adam Cochran, a partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, criticized Solana’s decision to delete the ad only after facing backlash. “They rolled it back because it hurt their business, not because they thought it was wrong,” Cochran wrote on X on March 18.
Solana has not provided an official reason for removing the advertisement, and the Solana Foundation has not responded to requests for comment.
Industry Figures Condemn the Ad
The ad’s messaging was widely panned by prominent figures in the Web3 and crypto space. Sean O’Connor, Chief Operating Officer at Web3 infrastructure company Blocknative, described the ad as “tone deaf.”
“At a time when trans people are getting denied passports and being erased by the government… this is the ad you put out?” O’Connor wrote on X, referencing recent policy changes in the United States.
On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump revoked executive orders issued by Joe Biden that were designed to prevent discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Trump also signed an order recognizing only two sexes—male and female—and eliminated the option for Americans to select “X” as their gender on passports.
David McIntyre, Chief Operating Officer of DoubleZero, criticized Solana’s ad as “horrendous” and questioned why the company did not focus on a more inclusive message. “Why not keep the message positive instead of dunking on people and making light of serious cultural issues?” he asked.
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A Deliberate Strategy?
Some industry leaders speculated that the ad was designed to provoke controversy and attract attention. Mentor Reka, CEO of decentralized exchange protocol Avnu.Fi, suggested that the campaign was intentionally provocative. “This might be Solana’s least inventive ad ever. They clearly went for attention over EVERYTHING, and well… mission accomplished, I guess,” Reka commented.
Even Solana’s co-founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, appeared to distance himself from the campaign. In a post on X, Yakovenko suggested that a previous Solana ad featuring influencer Maren Altman had been more effective, implying dissatisfaction with the latest marketing effort.
Binance was Critcized as Well
Binance’s marketing effort, aimed at attracting more women into the crypto space, also sparked criticism, with many in the crypto community mocking the campaign as clumsy and even sexist.
The campaign, launched last year and promoted again this year, centered around a perfume created by Binance’s marketing team, dubbed “CRYPTO” or “Eau de Binance.” The company claimed the scent was designed to make digital assets more appealing to women in the historically male-dominated industry, according to a statement shared with Decrypt.
In a video shared on social media on March 18, Binance employees were seen offering samples of the perfume to women at an outdoor mall in Bahrain, aiming to engage them in conversations about cryptocurrency and investing.
